The Real Us
by ImagineDreamForever
Summary: An alternate ending to 'The Diamond Ring,' Cato and Clove have to make it though the rest of the games alive if they really want to go home and start their lives together.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So I know a lot of you were asking for an alternate ending the my story 'The Diamond Ring,' so I decided to give it a go. This starts of repeating chapter 8, just a different ending to the feast scene.**

**If you haven't read 'The Diamond Ring' then it would probably make more sense if you read to first seven chapters and then came here, but anyway… I hope you like it!**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer- All credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

Another two days past in the arena with no other deaths since Marvel and Rue. No longer having to guard any supplies Cato and Clove spent mort of their time camping by the lake, sitting in the grass, under the trees…

"There haven't been any death's in a while…" Clove said as she watched Cato pick at the grass like he used to back home.

"I think the gamemakers will do something about that," Cato replied. "They're not going to wait much longer… it's getting pretty boring for the audience."

Clove nodded and stood up walking to the edge of the lake. "Want some?" she asked him and he shook his head. Bending down, she cupped her hands and let the water fill them, briefly getting distracted by the rainbow of colours sitting on the water, coming from the ring around her neck. She quickly sipped the water from her hands before standing up and tucking the ring back under her shirt as not to make anyone suspicious.

"What are you thinking about?" Clove asked, watching Cato stare into the distance.

Breaking the stare, a smile crossed his face, "I was just making up my mind the first thing I'll do when we get home."

Clove laughed and lay down on the grass, her head on his legs. "I know what I want to do." Cato knew why she didn't say anymore. They both wanted to go back to being a couple… maybe even letting people know.

The silence of the wind and running water is soon taken away by the sound of the announcement warning. "Congratulations to all remaining tributes!" Started the voice of Claudius Templesmith. "I am here to announce the first feast of the 74th hunger games…" there was a pause where the two exchanged glances, hoping for more. "Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining the invitation," he continued.

"Yeah right!" Cato said confidently and Clove agreed.

"But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately," he was right… both Cato and Clove would have gone out hunting for the remaining tributes days ago if they had the weapons. At the moment they were just trying to stay alive after loosing almost all they had in the explosion. "Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance," he finished.

"We're going right?" Clove asked, sitting up excitedly.

"I think we'd be stupid not to," Cato replied, looking briefly in the direction of the cornucopia.

"I'm glad," Clove said. "I'm sick of waiting around, I want us to go home already… together."

Cato nodded and smiled. "So… how do you think we should do this?"

Clove sighed and paused, thinking. "I'll get the backpack,"

"No way!" Cato cut in.

"Let me finish," she said quickly. "I'll get the backpack, you stay hidden. As soon as you see another tribute, get them…" she finished evilly.

"Twelve?" he asked.

"If she comes yes… but I'd say look out for Eleven. He's strong, the quicker we get him the better."

Cato nodded in understanding. "You sure you want to get the backpack?"

"Defiantly," Clove replied. "Don't worry about me. I've got this."

Cato nodded and shook his head laughing, amazed by her never-ending confidence. "Just be careful okay," he added quickly.

"Don't worry," she replied. "I will…"

* * *

The next few hours past even slower than usual but it was soon dawn and the couple started heading back up the cornucopia, preparing for the feast.

"You wait here," Cato told Clove once they reached a hidden point to the side of the golden horn. "I'm going that way," he pointed to the other side, in the forest of the arena.

"Go as far as you can," Clove added. "If we get one of them before they reach the cornucopia we can take their backpack too."

Cato nodded in approval. "I like the way you think."

Clove let out a quite laugh, "I'll be here when the feast is over."

"I'll see you then," Cato replied. "And remember… be careful!" she nodded as he ran off in the opposite direction leaving Clove staring at the golden horn, waiting for her chance to get closer… and run.

As she heard the parachutes dropping the backpacks as at the entrance of the golden horn she started making her way around the side. By the time she caught the first glimpse of the backpacks, district five's was already gone. She resisted the urge to call for Cato to go after her, knowing she was to fast and he was to far in the opposite direction.

Still left on the table was a small orange pack, labelled with the number 12, next to it, two large blue packs, one with 11 the other with 2… hers. Checking her jacket, she felt the knives she had tucked away encase they became at all necessary.

But as she started moving closer to the packs, she noticed twelve hoping to pull of the same as five. 'Not so fast twelve,' she thought to herself, picking us speed, running around the side of the golden horn. She quickly reached into her jacket, grabbing the first blade she set her hands on and throwing it in her direction.

The knife whizzes past her, only just missing and the next thing she knows she's dodging an arrow thrown her way, piercing a small cut through her upper left arm. She sees Twelve reach for her pack, growing more and more furious she grabs another knife, launching it towards the girl. Another arrow comes shooting her way but it misses by inches so she doesn't even bother moving.

'Now's my chance,' she thinks, slamming her entire body weight into the girl, sending her to the ground and pinning her down. "Where's your boyfriend District Twelve? Still hanging on?" she teases; wanting to enjoy every minute of this moment she had waited so long for.

"He's out there now. Hunting Cato," she replies, struggling under Clove's grip. "Peeta!" she calls, making Clove send her fist into her windpipe, cutting off her voice. She briefly looks around, still holding down Twelve for the slight possibility she could be telling the truth.

"Liar!" she says grinning evilly. Even if he were out there Cato would get him within seconds. "He's nearly dead. Cato knows where he cut him. You've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try to keep his heart going. What's in the pretty little backpack? That medicine for Lover Boy?" She continues to tease, her pulse growing stronger the more energy she gains through her determination and confidence. "Too bad he'll never get it!"

She opens her jacket, purposefully displaying her seemingly never-ending array of knives. Selecting one of the smaller, sharp and more painful looking one's, she holds it close to Twelve's face, thinking back to Cato's words. "I promised Cato if be let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show." Twelve continues to struggle under her grip but it doesn't worry her. She thinks about Cato and how he's probably already got Eleven, that would just leave Five, and easy target and Lover boy, an easier one.

"Forget it Twelve," she says, fixing her grip tighter. We're going to kill you. Just like we did your pathetic little ally… what was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well, first Rue, then you, and then I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound?" she asks, growing more and more confident as she thinks about the coming end to both Twelve and the games. "Now, where to start?" she questions, brutally scraping away at the blood on her forehead from previous wound she had given her.

She angrily tilts her head from side to side, deciding exactly how she should start. Twelve tries to bit her hand but Clove is to quick, slamming her head to the ground without a second thought. "I think... I think we'll start with your mouth," she says, carefully tracing the outside of her mouth with the tip of the blade. "Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?" she asks and quickly grows even more furious as Twelve manages to hit the side of her face with a mouthful of blood and saliva. "All right then. Let's get started."

She ready's her arm to press down on Twelve's mouth when she feels herself being lifted of the ground. It takes her a second to realise what is happening when she finds herself being held helplessly above the ground by Eleven. He throws her to the ground and she stops herself from showing her pain. "What'd you do to that little girl? You kill her?" Eleven shouts, scaring her beyond what she even thought possible.

She tries moving herself back on the ground, struggling to find her voice to call for Cato. "No! No, it wasn't me!" she eventually managed to get out.

"You said her name. I heard you. You kill her?" Eleven shouts and Clove know he's talking about Rue his district partner. "You cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl here?"

"No! No, I-" she starts, telling the truth but to terrified to do anything else. She see's him pick up a rock, much larger than anything she could hold in one hand. "CATO!" she finally manages to call. "CATO!"

"CLOVE!" she hears his voice but her split second of hope disappears knowing he's too far to reach her in time. Knowing this is the end; she shuts her eyes tight and waits as Eleven brings the rock down hard against her head, knocking her to the ground.

She's not bleeding. The pain seems so unbearable the dent starts to numb every other feeling.

"CLOVE!" she heard his voice again and she's surprised she's still alive, let alone conscious. She lets the ground support her head as the world around her starts to blur. The next thing that registers is a figure next to her… Cato.

"Clove… Clove, please answer me!" He begs frantically as he grips her hand, tears forming in his eyes.

"Cato…?" she manages to choke out through the pain.

"I'm here…" he replies, with the last bit of hope he has. "Stay with me Clove… please… I can't leave without you… you have to stay with me… please."

"I-I'm not going anywhere," she replies, her eyes blurring more and more and darkness seems to enclose her.

He kisses her hand, still gripping it tightly as he tries to figure out what to do. After a short while she speaks again, her breathing still harsh. "Cato?" she says unexpectedly, as her head turns sharply in his direction. "Cato… where are you?"

"I-I'm right here…" he replies, still gripping her hand.

She stares into the darkness of her eyes as she tries to follow the sound of his voice. She doesn't panic, she knows what's going on… she's just surprised she's still alive.

"Cato?" she repeats.

"Mhm?" he chokes out, swallowing hard.

"I love you…" Clove says, and she knows she's just told the world… but she doesn't care. Lifting her hands, she presses them to his cheeks, running her fingers over his mouth, nose and eyes… as if to make sure he's still there.

"I know…" he replies, his brain finally realizing what's going on. "I love you too…"

Surprised and worried about her calmness, he gently picks her up, holding her close to his chest as he takes her back to the lake.

"Cato, am I going to die?" she asks, as he walks, still holding her close.

"No…" he replies firmly. "You're not going to die… it's just going to be dark for a while, that's all."

He tries his best to make his voice sound strong and is quite glad she can't see the look of worry on his face. Seeing her break, breaks him just as much.

As they reach the lake, he lays her down on the grass. "Don't go to sleep…" he tells her, not wanting her to loose consciousness and possibly not wake up.

She nods as he walks to the lake, filling his hands with water and allowing her to take a sip. "I hate the dark," she almost laughs and he has to smile. Only Clove could laugh at a situation like that.

"You always have…" he replies, going back to the lake and noticing a silver parachute sitting quite obviously on a rock next to him. "We have a present," he says aloud, reaching for the parachute and opening the supplies inside.

_You've done something right. It won't cure her sight but I'll heal her head –E _

The note from their mentor read. The 'love' thing, he thought. It's helped them…

"Clove?" he asks, walking back to her as he opened the small silver container. "Clove?" he repeats after getting no reply.

As he walks up to her, her head is lolled to the side, her breathing sharp. "No Clove. Don't go to sleep!"

Thinking as fast as he could, he notices to container is filled with a fine, dusty, pink coloured powder, the lid listing the simple instructions of adding water for easier consumption. He does so, and gently lifts Clove's neck up, pouring the powdery liquid down her throat.

She swallows is, her eyes fluttering slightly. Sighing, he lies on the grass next to her and silently thanks anyone who will listen… for keeping her alive.

* * *

**So I hope you like it! I have absolutely no clue where the idea came from; I sort of just started writing. Please review and tell me if you'd like me to continue :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, sorry it's been a while… Thank you all so much for the AMAZING feedback and reaction to this story. It really means a lot for you to be reading it :)**

**A special thank you to; **SilverWinds**, **soccergal21**, **TwilightCharmedFaie**, '**Somebody'**, **LifeThroughSeaGreenEyes**, **Jim Povolo Is My Man**, **BriaMellarkKnight**, **'Guest'** and **AllYouWillEverBeIsMean **for your amazing reviews. Everyone seems to have taken well to the blindness thing, I still don't know where it came from but yeah, anyway, thank you!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- All credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

Waking up the next morning, the sun beamed down on the lake, he realized they had spent the entire night asleep on the grass, in complete view of anyone out hunting.

Turning his head, he saw the face of Clove, still sleeping peacefully, as though the events from the day before had never happened.

Leaving her to sleep, he got up of the earth and crossed the lake, picking a handful of scarlet colored berries they had in district 2, sucking the sweet liquid from the center. 'Four more...' he thought as he continued to eat the berries. 'Four more and we can go home..."

"Cato?" her voice snapped him from his thoughts. She was sitting upright now, her hands clutching the grass around her as her head whipped from one side to the other. "Cato?" she repeated.

"I'm still here, it's okay," he reassured her, picking another branch of berries as e crossed the lake back over to her.

"Good... I thought you'd left me," she said, as he sat down next to her.

"Never..." he whispered, leaving a gentle smile on her lips. "How's your head?" he asked.

"Better..." she replied. "I wish I could say the same for my eyes."

"I know..." he pressed his lips together, looking as the scarlet juice, staining his fingers. "Here, eat this," he said, holding a berry to her lips, which she gladly took from his hands.

"The pack..." she says after a while.

"Huh?" Cato replies, eating another berry.

"The pack, at the feast... I didn't get it."

"Never mind that..." he reassures her.

"But we need something... We can't win without whatever is in that pack."

"You don't know that..." he replies. "Maybe it was just food, and I don't know about you, but I'm pretty happy with these berries," he finishes as smiles as Clove let's out a light laugh.

"You and I both know it wasn't food," she replies, gripping onto his arm, as not to let him go.

"Do you know who got it?" Cato asked after a while.

"Eleven..." she answers. "I'm positive. He grabbed it right after he knocked me out…"

"Then lets get it back," he said confidently.

"Really? Cato I can't…"

"You don't have to do anything," he cut her off, knowing she wouldn't be able to make it very far without her sight.

"I'm not letting you go alone… what if something happens to you?" she asks worriedly, trying to stop tears forming in her eyes.

"Nothing's going to happen to me Clove, I'll be…"

"He almost killed me!" she shouts, cutting his sentence short, her eyes still trying to find his. "You can't just expect me to let you go after him while I stay here and wait!"

"Clove…" he says calmly, gripping her hand as tightly as he could.

"I can't loose you…" her voice cracks, as she allows him to embrace her, grabbling onto the back of his jacket as he whispers into her ears.

"I've never seen you like this…" he says after a while, still holding onto her. "What happened to that strong determined girl I came here with?"

"Somewhere where light exists… where she's not constantly looking into darkness," Clove replies softly, really trying to take in his words.

"You know what?" he asks her, cupping her face in the palm of his hands. "When we win this, they'll fix your eyes, okay. They can fix them…"

"How do you know?" she shakes her head, still no tears but anger over her situation.

"Because it's the Capitol," he tells her. "Isn't that right!" he looks up, as if to the cameras.

"Okay…" she whispers, still gripping to his wrists.

"Okay?" he repeats.

"Go… the quicker we get him, the quicker this game will be over."

He gives a half smile and kisses her briefly on the cheek. "I'll go tomorrow, for now, we need food," he says.

"Are you going to go hunting?" Clove asks, still looking in his general direction.

"Nope," he replies simply. "We're going hunting," he smiled, letting her take his hand as he pulled her up, to stand next to him.

"Are you sure?" she asks, wanting to know he meant it.

"Course I do," he replied. "Clove, this doesn't change anything… especially the way I feel about you."

The couple spent the rest of the day hunting for food, Cato keeping an eye out for any tributes with the same idea. As the arena grew dark, they found a place to sleep for the night, Cato's arm around Clove's, as he promised himself he wouldn't let anything else happen to her…

* * *

It was well into the morning by the time they woke up the next morning. The anthem from the night before revealed that there had been no deaths, he hoped to change that today… the quicker they got out of there the better.

"Stay here okay, promise me you won't leave, not matter what happens. Okay?" Cato said, as he prepared to leave.

"I promise," she replied. "I just wish I could be more helpful…"

"It's alright. I'll be fine," he told her, kissing her on the forehead.

"Cato!" she called, just as he was leaving.

"Yeah?" he replied, turning back in her direction.

"Take this," she said, holding out the threatening looking knife that had come so close to killing Twelve.

"You might need it," he replied.

She shook her head. "No one will find me here… take it."

Smiling, he took the knife and set off into the woods, keeping his steps as light as possible but the longer he walked, the more pointless it seemed to become.

As evening fell, it started to storm, the rain pouring down against his coat, soaking his shoes and making it harder to walk. Not wanting to worry Clove, he started heading back to their campsite. The weather was making his task practically impossible anyway…

It was when he was only a short way from their campsite when he was hit. A sharp pain searing through his side as he looked down to see a deep cut through the middle. He breathed out heavily, pressing his hand to the cut but he didn't have long before his attacker revealed himself.

Eleven, walked out, another knife in his hand but thinking fast, Cato smashed his fist into the side of his face, sending him crashing to the ground. Although his cheek started to turn purple he sprung to his feet, sending the punch back.

He let out a groan of pain as his side his the ground but he didn't let it beat him. He wasn't far away from Clove and the last thing he wanted was for him to get the both of them.

"I wondered how long it'd be before I saw you again," Eleven said, as Cato wiped the blood from his hand onto his shirt.

"Why, because you almost killed my district partner, you stole our pack?" Cato replied.

"Almost," he repeated, something almost soft about his voice. Before he got another chance to speak, Cato sent Clove's knife into his leg, red liquid drenching the material covering it, as he let out a scream in pain.

"Cato?" he heard a panicked voice all of a sudden. 'Cato! What's going on?" he could see her figure coming out from the cover of their campsite, her hair drenching as much as theirs in the storm.

"Clove! Go back! I mean it, now!" he shouted.

"Cato, what's going on?" she asked again.

He held back a scream as Eleven punched him, pinning him up against a tree. "Now Clove! Go!" he told her and with her hands in front of her, she reluctantly disappeared.

"So she's still alive huh?" Eleven said threateningly.

"Yep, and she'll stay alive too," Cato retorted, punching him to the ground.

Clove on the other hand, remained hidden, listening to the fight going on around her, feeling useless. "Come on Cato…" she whispered.

The storm pounded against their shelter and she wasn't able to tell if the fight had stopped or not. It wasn't long before the anthem appeared in the sky, and another tributes death was displayed. Only, she couldn't see who it was.

"Cato?" she called, revealing herself once again. "Cato?"

"Clove…" she heard him groan.

In that moment, she gave a relieved sigh… it wasn't him. Cato was still alive. "I'm coming," she said, trying to make her way over to him.

"Be careful," he told her, trying to stand up, his hand still pressing against the cut on his side.

Somehow, they managed to make it to each other, Cato almost collapsing to the ground as Clove supported him, recognizing his presents. As best she could, she helped him back undercover, resting him away from the storm.

"What happened?"

* * *

she asked, wiping his wet hair from his face.

"I got Eleven… we're so close Clove. So close," he replied. "Get the container," he said referencing to the powder that had healed Clove's head. "It's in my pocket."

She nodded, fumbling with his jacked at her hands found the pocket and the silver container inside. A small amount of now pink liquid remained, "will this help?" she asked.

"It's all we've got," he replied. She held the contained to his lips as he downed the remainder of the liquid. "I got the pack…" he told her, his breathing weakening.

"I'm glad. But we'll deal with that in the morning, here," she said, ripping a piece of material from her shirt.

"Take of your shirt," she told him.

"Clove…" Cato replied.

"As if you're embarrassed," she laughed, trying to lighten the situation. "I can't even see you… not that you should be embarrassed for me too," she giggled, something she hadn't done since their meetings back at the field in District 2.

"Very funny," he replied. "I don't think I can…" he replied, struggling to even take his jacket off. "Here," and with Clove's okay, he managed to help guide her hands as she secured the material around his wound. A situation today, which had been so unlike their personality at any other time of the games…

* * *

**I really hope you liked it! It was harder to write than I expected, please review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, I guess I've been putting off writing this chapter for a wile cause I wanted it to be good but I hope you like it!**

**A special thank you to; **soccergal21**, **'Guest'**, **TwilightCharmedFaie**, **clato4ever7**, **Gale-is-mine-76**, **'Guest' **and **Hunger-Games-Lover555 **for your awesome reviews! I really appreciate it :) **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- all credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

On the morning of the sixteenth day in the arena, Cato awoke to thankfully clear skies after yesterday's storm. "Clove," he whispered to wake her up, gently shaking her side.

"Mhm?" she mumbled in response, turning over to face in his direction, still half asleep.

"The storm stopped," he told her, suddenly remembering the fight with Thresh. He checked his side where the injury had been to see that it had almost entirely cleared up. "That stuff Enobaria sent us is amazing," he added, not sure if Clove was even listening. "I'm almost perfectly back to normal again."

"What?" Clave sat up suddenly, excited by his words. "Your better?" she asked, staring in his general direction.

"Almost perfect thanks to you," he smiled, giving her a brief kiss on the cheek as not to get the audience to worked up.

"Yeah right," Clove laughed in response.

"I'm serious," Cato said. "If it wasn't for you I'd have been lying out there in the storm all night waiting for a very slow death."

"Don't say that," Clove said seriously. She didn't like it when they joked about dying, especially because they were in a place where dying is all to possible.

"I'm sorry...You know what I mean" he replied and she nodded. "Now," he added, changing the subject, " shall we find out what's in this pack?"

Clove nodded and smiled, "Defiantly."

Reaching for the pack, Cato tipped out it's condense to reveal two shiny silver suits, one larger than the other. He picked the larger one up and felt the material. "Perfect!" he said aloud.

"What is it?" Clove asked excitedly.

"Here," Cato said, picking the smaller one up and placing it in her hands. She guided her hand over the material and smiled as she felt us. "They'll protect us," he added.

"They're perfect," Clove agreed.

They put the protective suits on, covering them with their clothes and set off, leaving their shelter behind.

"There's a rabbit about two meters away from where you're standing," Cato said, slipping a knife into her hand and leading her hand in the right direction. "Go," he told her and she through the knife.

Clove smiled and Cato shook his head. "That is impressive," he told her, laughing. "You can't see but you still have perfect aim."

"I never miss," she laughed, as did Cato.

* * *

About half way through the day, the couple sat by one of the smaller lakes, eating their catch when a canon went off. By force of habit, they looked to the sky but the anthem wouldn't play until the evening.

"Who do you think it was?" Clove asked.

"Can't be sure, I'd say that cut finally took Twelve but I could be wrong. They got to there pack…" Cato replied.

Clove nodded and later that evening they discovered that the person killed was in fact the girl from five.

"Who'd thought it'd end up being us against both tributes from district 12?" Cato shook his head, laughing slightly.

"Not me, that's for sure," Clove replied, stunned of the outcome.

"We'll go looking for them at first light, " Cato told her. "The quicker we get them the quicker this thing is over."

"Sounds good to me," she nodded. "I can't wait fro this to be over now. I want my sight back."

Cato smiled sadly but didn't say much else. They went to sleep, prepared to go home within the next couple of days.

* * *

As the seventeenth day approached, the couple set off with their remaining weapons, Clove's knives and Cato's sword in the direction of the cornucopia, closest to the main source of water, where they hoped they could find the remaining tributes.

They spent most of the day walking, stopping occasionally to eat or refill their water bottles. "Do you realize we could be home within a matter of hours?" Clove said all of a sudden.

Cato let out a light laugh and smiled. "Sort of hard to believe huh? But… never mind."

"But what? We're going home! Together!" Clove said, questioning what could possibly be bugging him.

"Nothing's ever going to be the same again, you know that right?" Cato replied after a while.

Clove thought for a minute and sighed. "I know… but we'll make it through." Clove said and Cato nodded and smiled and they continued on.

It was late afternoon by the time they made any progress. They were still a long way from the cornucopia but when they reached the river, they heard voices not far away from where they were standing. "Shhh," Cato told Clove as they silenced themselves and walked as quietly as possible.

As they reached the bank of the river, two figures came into Cato's view. "We've got them," he whispered to Clove, who returned an evil smile. Walking as close as he dared followed closely by Clove he made their presence known. "Well, well, well, look who we have here," Cato said evilly, turning the sword around in his hands.

Thinking fast the girl from Twelve aimed an arrow, sending it shooting right at his chest where it bounced right off. "Don't even bother Twelve."

As she began to string another arrow her partner pulled her back. "Katniss don't bother," he told her, backing away. With any luck they hoped to get away from the other pair but at the moment, the odds certainly were not in their favor.

"Lover boy," Cato said, nodding his head in greeting. "Nice to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same for you Cato but the last time I saw you wasn't exactly a walk in the park," he replied.

"Don't worry, I'll make up for that," Cato told him. "And Fire girl, I think I might just let Clove here do the honor's."

Clove smiled and ran the blade of her knife across her jacket, teasing the other pair. "Now," Cato continued. "Which one of you wants to go first?"

The couple exchanged worried glances, trying to stay confident but they both knew they stood no chance against the remaining two careers with the armor they were wearing.

Just as Cato started to approach them, Peeta's eyes widened in complete shock as he stumbled back in fear. His partner soon followed, pointing to a spot behind Cato, not far from Clove.

Thinking it was a trick he turned around, just to make sure but was surprised to see that it was in fact, bot a trick. "Clove, RUN!" he shouted, making her stumble in fear.

"RUN!" there was another chorus of shouts from around him. The other two tributes sprung off in the opposite direction to where they had come but at the moment, he didn't care.

"CLOVE!" Cato repeated and she ran forward, stumbling into his arms.

"Cato what's going on?" she asked, panicked.

"Mutts…" was all he managed to say before picking her up and running as fast as possible in the direction of the cornucopia. She wrapped her arms around him, once again feeling completely helpless. The pack had separated, half going after both from Twelve, the other half after them.

Following the sound of the mutts breathing and footsteps, Clove managed to send a knife through the air, killing one of the lighter coloured mutts, closest to them.

Cato ran for what seemed like forever, towards the cornucopia and breathed out in relief as he saw the golden horn ahead. The mutts kept their speed and it seemed as thought they just made it. Cato lifted Clove up on top of the golden horn and allowed her to climb the rest of the way, following her closely behind. The made their way to the middle of the horn as far away from the mutts as possible.

"How many are there?" Clove asked, still shaking.

"Ten… maybe more," Cato replied, looking down at the mutts. Every one of them seemed to be different. He noticed one in particular, a black coloured one dark eyes and a slit down the side of its neck. Around it, was a collar with the number '3' strung around it. "The tributes…" he whispered, so Clove couldn't hear. Three, the one whose neck he snapped… it's like he was trying to get revenge.

But being the last thing they were thinking about, a cannon went off, closely followed by another one. Cato's glance traveled from the mutts to the sky and just at that moment, the faces of both tributes from twelve appeared in the sky.

Clove looked in Cato's direction questioningly. "They're gone…" he told her, a mixture of shock and relief inside him.

"What?" Clove said excitedly. "Cato! Cato that means we win…" she said, after it had only just sunk in.

Cato walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "We win…" he sighed. Just as the two were getting excited, Claudius Templesmith's voice came booming over the arena.

"Greetings to the final contestants of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. The earlier revisions have been… revoked. Closer examination of the rulebook has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed. Good luck and may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!"

The voice disappeared and at that moment, everything seemed to be spinning in slow motion. "No…" Cato said aloud, Clove's stunned and scared look breaking his heart. "No, no, no!" he shook his head almost shouting. "You can't do this!"

"Cato…" Clove said softly, her voice breaking.

"No Clove! They can't…" he shook his head, feeling even worse than he had during the reaping. He looked back down at the mutts, the pack seemed to have grown and he knew the others had joined them.

"No Cato…" Clove said, trying to stay calm. "Do you remember the deal we made before the games?"

Cato thought for a moment and at the same time as Clove, repeated his own words. "We go together…"

Clove nodded and Cato gripped her hand, smiling sadly. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I can…"

"No," she said sternly, shaking her head. "You're not dying for me. We made a deal and I don't intend on changing that.

Cato sighed, he wanted to fight back and tell her he should go home without him, but he knew it was no use. He looked down towards the mutts, then back at Clove. "Okay… take off the armor" he told her and both did as he said, leaving the silver suits lying on top of the golden horn, as they slipped their jackets back on.

"On three?" she asked, stepping to the edge of the horn.

"On three," he agreed, looking down at the angry, hungry mutts.

"One," Clove started.

"Two," Cato continued.

"Three…"

"NO! Stop! Stop!" Claudius' voice came once again and just in time. Cato and Clove stumbled backwards, only just avoiding falling over the edge, looking at each other in confusion. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Clove Mayson and Cato Hadley! I give you- the tributes of district two!"

Looking over at Clove, both their faces lit up. "Clove!" was all he managed to say. He was so happy he was almost laughing out of joy.

"We won!" she shouted, as he ran over to her, embracing her with everything he had.

"We're going home…" he whispered into her ear, almost positive he had never felt this happy.

"We're going home…" she repeated, smiling more than ever as he held her.

At that moment, a hovercraft appeared overhead and two ladders dropped down. They each grabbed one and ere lifted up into the hovercraft. As soon as they make it inside, a doctor rushed to Clove, shining light in both her eyes and in a matter of seconds, she was whisked away out of Cato's sight.

"Were are they taking her?" Cato asks, trying to follow but he's held back by Enobaria.

"Into evaluation, they'll do there best to fix her eyes," she told him. He turned around to face her and for the first time, she gave him a smile that was enough to say congratulations.

"What happened to the other two… how'd they die?" he asked all of a sudden. Something inside him needed to know.

"They didn't die," she replied, leading him to a lounge where he was smothered in people offering him food and drink.

"What" he asked, shocked.

"They weren't killed, the Capitol just wanted the audience to think that," she replied and edged him to take something to eat. Knowing he couldn't stomach much with the little food he had been eating, he took a juice from the plate.

"What'd you mean they wanted the audience to think that?" he asked again.

"You ask a lot of questions fro someone who has just won the games," she replied, shaking her head as she sipped on a glass of some sort of spirit.

"I mean it," he said more sternly.

"They escaped."

* * *

**Okay, so I hope that wasn't super confusing or anything but you guys all know I'm sure, I don't have the heart to kill of Katniss and Peeta, so this will be what starts the rebellion. I know it would also be IMPOSSIBLE for something like this to happen in the games but please just go with it :P **

**I really hope you liked it! Please review, it means a lot!**


	4. Authors Note SORRY!

**Hey guys! I'm super sorry if you thought this was a chapter but please read, I really need your opinion on a few things :)**

Okay, so first off all I had a bunch of ideas today which I was thankful for while being bored at school… anyway, I've started the next chapter but I need to ask you guys what you think about some of the ideas.

1) Should Clove's eyesight be fixed right away or later on?

2) How soon should they get married?

3) I had an idea of maybe later in the story having Clove get pregnant and then reaped for the quarter quell but Enobaria volunteers for her. Do you like that or is it too cliché?

4) If you like the above idea I was planning on somehow Katniss and Peeta meeting up with Cato and Clove in district two and becoming friends so they can stop the hunger games. Clove would want to do so for the safety of her future child.

…

I also have to clear a few things up because a lot of you have been suggesting or guessing where the stories going to go and I don't want you to expect anything that probably won't happen.

1) Katniss and Peeta are still the cause of the rebellion because what they did was a lot worse than what Cato and Clove did. The Capitol isn't as angry with them as they are with Katniss and Peeta.

2) I'm not planning on having Cato and Clove go into the quarter quell unless you want me too but I think it'll be difficult to write, I'm not sure

**Once again, I'm sorry if you thought this was a chapter but please leave a review or PM me to tell me what you think. It'll really help me out :)**

**Thanks again,**

**ImagineDreamForever**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I'm super sorry for the delay, it seems like forever since I actually gave you a chapter to read, so I hope you like this one!**

**A special thank you to; **TwilightCharmedFaie**, **Hunger-Games-Lover555**, **soccergal21**, **'Guest'** and **'clato 4 life' **for all of your amazing reviews to chapter 3! It really does mean a lot to me :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- All credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

**Extra Note- Okay, so I wanted to say like the BIGGEST THANK YOU to everyone who left their thoughts and ideas about the story to me it's been such a massive help. I've taken everyone's comments into account for this chapter and later ones for where the story is going to go. It was mostly a 'majority vote' thing but a lot of it I'll stick to what I thick suits the story best so I hope that's okay with you. Once again, thank you all so much, all the praise and help was utterly amazing!**

**Now… finally, onto the story!**

* * *

"Escaped..." Cato repeated not sure whether it was a question or not.

Enobaria nodded and took another sip of her drink. He glances over to the room Clove was taken every now and then but he's still left without answers.

"How is that even possible?" he asked eventually.

"That's what the Capitol are tying to figure out," she replied. "But at the moment, we all have to act like we think they're dead too and that includes you!" Cato nodded then shook his head, still in disbelief.

It's not long before they land on the roof of the training center and walk to the exit. Although they do their best to hide Clove from his view, Cato sees her, lying lifelessly, unconscious on a bed as they rush her out of the hovercraft.

"Clove!" he called after her, something snapping in his mind as though he was back in the arena, seeing her after her fight with Eleven. "Clove!" he called again as she's taken out of sight.

He tried to follow but was once again held back by Enobaria. "You'll see her soon," is all she says.

After that nothing much else registers, he's not quite sure what Enobaria meant by 'soon' but the next thing he knows he was being whisked away to the remake center.

...

Her head felt like it was spinning when she finally woke up. Too scared to open her eyes she felt everything around her. There were tubes stuck into her arms and she was pretty sure she wasn't wearing any clothes underneath the silky covers. Her head ached and she knew the Capitol had done something to her.

Everything came back to her in a second then. Being the last two standing, almost sacrificing herself to the mutts, winning the games… being taken away from Cato the minute she stepped into the hovercraft.

_Cato… _she thought, wondering where he was, still wondering where she was.

Building up enough courage to open her eyes, she gently lifted her lids. It was more of a struggle than usual; they were heavy and a little sore, the Capitol had defiantly worked on them. When she managed to open them, light filtered into them, for the first time in what seemed like forever. She could see silhouettes of objects around her but everything was blurry and she couldn't quite seem to focus. It was almost like too much light was getting in, blocking out everything else. She shut her eyes, and called, "Cato!"

No one came and again, she started to question where she was, where everyone else was. "Cato?" she said again, her eyes still closed in fear. Still not being able to see anything made her start to think everything she thought had happened was all a dream… maybe she was still in the arena.

"Cato, where are you?" she said a little louder, sounding more panicked. It was the softness of the sheets and bed that told her she was defiantly not in the arena. She heard muffled voiced coming from somewhere else, perhaps another room close by. She needed someone to tell her where she was…

* * *

"_Cato where are you?" _he heard her voice from a room near by.

"Clove?" he called, but the restraining belts held him down. After getting off the hovercraft, he panicked for Clove and the last thing he remembered was a needle pierced through his skin, before passing out.

They must have done something to him while he was asleep because every single cut, scratch and injury had disappeared. Even those he'd gotten before the arena, in training back home. His skin felt soft but tender, like it could be damaged at the slightest movement.

"Do you want to see her?" a voice came from the door of his room. Enobaria had appeared, leaning up against the doorframe.

"Am I allowed?" he asked in response, thinking it was not likely.

"We were going to make you wait until the replay of the games with Caesar but we decided against it. We think if she doesn't see you soon she's going to go insane," she tells him, quite plainly.

"See's me?" he asks hopefully. "They fixed her sight?"

Enobaria sighs and shakes her head unknowingly. "One of the Capitol doctors just checked up on her. I don't know much yet but I can tell you that eyes can be tricky things. Not even the Capitol has the technology to fix something so sensitive immediately."

"So it's permanent?" he asks, his hope melting.

"No," she almost laughs. "I didn't say that, I said not immediately. She'll see again, it'll just take time, that's all."

Cato sighs and gives her a half smile. "Good…" She gives him a firm not before passing him a simple black shirt and pants and letting him leave the room to see Clove.

* * *

As he walks into her room, everything seems almost unreal. The fact that they both got out alive… the fact that their were two victors. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, her feet dangling over the edged as she gripped the side of the bed for support. She was wearing a plain white dress that seemed so different to what he was used to seeing her dressed like the past few weeks. Like him, the Capitol had removed all her scars and injuries, including the serious ones she had obtained during the feast. Seeing them together you never would have guessed they had just come out of the arena.

"How are you feeling?" he asks her for lack of a better introduction.

She jumps slightly, unknowing of his appearance. Looking up, she smiles and he walks towards her. As he reaches her side, she places her hands on his face, of the silhouette her eyes could pick up. She stays like that for a while, taking in the fact that it really was him, before pulling him close into the tightest hug and let him just, hold her.

"I can't believe it…" she whispers into his ear as he sits down next to her, still not letting go.

"Me neither," he replies, letting his hands get caught in her silky brown locks, now that the Capitol had finished with her.

"Home…" is the next thing she says. He lets her go, still gripping her hands in his.

"What?" he asks in response.

"Home… I want to go home," she repeats. "I want go home and get see out families and get married and just forget… forget everything that happened."

"I know…" he whispers, shaking his head. "I do too." It's then; he realizes the silver chain is no longer strung around her neck. In confusion, he looks around the room as see's the single diamond ring sitting on the table next to her bed.

Picking it up, he lifts her hand and carefully slips the ring onto her fourth finger. "If you'd let me… I'd still love for you to be my wife."

She smiles and her eyes travel to their join hands as she tries her hardest to make out the picture. Defeated by the extent of light, she softly closes her eyes and smiles. "Yes," she nods and lifts her head. Cato smiles and presses a kiss to her lips. 'It'll be over soon, then we can both go home…"

* * *

**I really hope you liked the chapter! And I hope they weren't too out of character, I just love writing romantic stuff! There's a poll on my profile at the moment relating to the baby idea from my author's note, so please vote, it'd be a big help!**

**Thank you all again for your thoughts and comments for the story, you've all been anazing! Anyway… please leave a review for this chapter! It's what keeps me writing :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while but finally here's an update, so I hope you like it! **

**Another special thank you too; **InSaNeAnNiE**, **Hunger-Games-Lover555**, **'casey'**, **soccergal21**, **TwilightCharmedFaie **and **'Guest' **for all you awesome reviews! Also I think there might have been some others from earlier chapters so thank you too :)**

**And! An extra special thank you to two anonymous reviewers **Shelly and Alex!** You guys were absolutely amazing reviewing every chapter of 'The Diamond Ring' and this one! It really means a lot :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- All credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

"Clove? Clove can you here me?" a voice came from beside her bed. It'd been a long time since she'd heard that voice. It was the last voice she heard before entering the arena.

"Revan?" Clove answered, trying to sit up on her bed. She was still in the same hospital bed she had been since getting out of the arena.

"Congratulations," he told her, helping her get up.

She let out a light laugh and smiled, "Thanks…" she said, and lifts her hand to her eyes, which were covered by soft patches. The Capitol had obviously been at it again, trying to fix her eyes.

"Don't do that," Revan told her, pulling her arm away from her eyes. "We can try later, see if it was successful."

"It won't be…" she said sadly, having given up hope a while ago.

"Hey, don't be so sure," he told her. "Come on, let's get you ready."

"Ready?" she questioned.

"For the Capitol," he replied. "For the replay of the games. You and Cato have to look your absolute best!"

There was the Revan she new. She sighed and let him help her up. Her feet felt numb on the ground but she's was walking just fine. "Where are we going?" she asked.

Revan walked over and took her hand, "Back to the remake centre," he told her.

"You mean I can finally leave this place?" she asked, referencing to the hospital room she had really been beginning to hate.

Revan laughed and lead her out of the room, "Yep, now, lets get you ready."

* * *

Going to the remake centre to get ready for the replay of the games with Caesar reminded her awfully of her time before the games. Revan let her run her hands over the dress she was to wear before slipping it over her clear skin. It was beaded at the top and fell into a silky material, just above her knee. Clove tried to picture it in her mind and thought it must have been beautiful.

It felt so strange for her to be wearing something so elegant after being in the arena for so long. Her prep team curled her hair and put a small section up.

"Don't open your eyes yet okay," Revan told her as he took the patches off her eyes. She obeyed and kept them closed as her prep team smoothed her eyelids and dusted them with make up as well as her lips and cheeks. He helped her step into a pair of heels and led her to a mirror.

"Now… open," he told her and she took in a gasp.

"What if…"

"Just open them," he cut her sentence off.

She nodded and slowly opened her eyes. Once again, light flooded into them and everything around her blurred. She blinked a few times, allowing them to adjust. Eventually, the light felt normal again and she looked around the room. She sighed and smiled, too happy to say anything.

"It worked?" Revan asked her, also smiling. Clove nodded excitedly and looked into the mirror, her hands grasped the silky material as she took in her appearance. The beaded part of her dress was orange; the same colour as her interview dress and the skirt was a mixture of yellows, oranges, greens and blues. Her heels were also multi-coloured, as was her make up. It really was a truly unique dress.

"Where's Cato?" she turned around quickly to Revan. "I want to see him. I need to tell him!"

"You will," Revan reassured her, still smiling at her excitement. "On stage…" he gave her a wink and walked over to the other members of her pleased looking prep team. Clove was left standing in her room, taking in her surroundings and loving what it felt like to be able to see again.

* * *

Having not stopped thinking about Clove since he last saw her, Cato found himself waiting in a room underneath the stage, ready to make their grand entrance to the Capitol. He wore a simple black pair of pants, with a matching jacket and an orange coloured shirt underneath to match his shoes. He waited as calmly as possible, pulling at the collar of the jacket.

"Cato," he felt a hand clasp him on the back and turned around to see Enobaria. She always seemed to be turning up at moments like this but isn't that what a mentor is for, support? "How're you feeling?" she asked him, walking around to face him. She was wearing a striking black dress, accented with gold, nothing like what she'd usually wear.

"Alright I guess…" he replied, trying not to let his worry show.

"You'll be fine," she told him, clapping her hand to his arm.

"I don't know what to do?" he admitted. "How am I supposed to act?"

"Like yourself," she told him and he's pretty sure it's the first time he's ever heard someone say that to him in his whole life.

"Myself?" he repeated. "You mean they're okay about me and Clove being a couple?"

Enobaria let out a harsh laugh, "They're more than okay with it. They still think the two from twelve are dead. That means the Capitol lost their star crossed lovers until you two admitted it after the feast."

"How much do they know?" he questioned, not being able to remember what he said in the arena to what he said out.

"We can't be sure I guess…" she replied. "But during the interview tomorrow, just answer all the questions honestly, unless you know the outcome is going to be bad."

Cato nodded but didn't reply. Enobaria left to make her entrance with their escort and stylists, leaving him alone on the platform and ready to appear on stage.

In the last few minutes before his entrance he thought about Clove and hoped she was doing okay. He hadn't seen her since their meeting in the hospital when her sight was still bad. He hoped she have at least some sort of improvement by now.

His thoughts went on while the entrances started but were broken as he felt himself being lifted from the metal plate beneath his feet. The first thing he heard was the Capitol cheering louder than ever, before a blinding light hits his eyes and he was welcomed back to the stage.

Caesar Flickerman was there too, waiting and applauding just like everyone else but he takes no notice. Only a few meters away he caught sight of her and once again felt like it'd been forever since he last saw her. It was when she looked at him, her eyes wide and as beautiful as ever, he ran and pulled her into the tightest hug, making the audience cheer even louder.

"You can see?" he whispered into her ear, still holding her. She nodded against his chest and clasped the back of his jacket. He wanted to kiss her but he didn't know if he should.

His turned his head towards Caesar who nodded happily, "Go on! We know you can't wait," he said cheerfully and without another thought, Cato let her go and lifted her chin, pressing his lips to hers into a passionate kiss.

The crowd screamed and cheered louder than ever as the couple finally knowingly admitted their relationship in public. The kiss goes on for a while as both of them remember what it felt like to be a proper couple again.

Eventually they pull apart and laugh as the crowd sighs in disappointment. Clove looks around in awe and Cato smiles more than ever at the outcome after having Enobaria tell him to be himself. Caesar manages to calm them down before leading them to a chair across from his spot on stage.

The lights dim and the crowd waited in anticipation as the Capitol seal appeared on the massive screen above them. Clove allowed Cato to wrap his arm around her in comfort as the screening began and they watched along with the rest of the audience.

The replay of the games starts with the opening ceremony and the chariot rides. The couple noticed they seemed to try to avoid showing district twelve as much as possible, keeping the camera shots on them as often as they could. They also showed the training scores and the interviews from before the games. Cato knew both he and Clove would probably answer the questions differently now after knowing what it's really like to be in the arena.

They spend a long time focusing on the bloodbath, considering that was one of their most successful moments of the games. It seemed strange to see Glimmer and Marvel again and even Four and Three, considering they all helped them survive when it came down to it. The killings seemed so much more brutal on screen, they really showed everything, not wanting the audience to miss a detail.

The rest of the video focused on their time in the arena with the other careers. Their other kills, moments when they lost their allies, the blowing up of their food and of course the feast. Seeing the feast again reminded Cato how close he came to loosing Clove and he pulled her closer to him as they continued watching.

Most pars from then on focused on them. Clove loosing her sight, Cato killing Thresh and getting injured, and finally their confrontation with the two from twelve until the mutts came. One again, they spent as little time as possible on the two from twelve and didn't show the part when they almost gave their lives to the mutts. It finished with the announcement of the two victors and the couple being lifted into the hovercraft before the Capitol seal finished the screening.

The anthem played and the crowd rose as President Snow walked on stage followed by a small girl holding a cushion with two gold crowns balanced on it. The couple also stood as President Snow placed one crown on Clove's head and the other on Cato's. When he stepped aside, Cato grabbed Cloves hand and raises it with his to the audience.

They once again cheer in excitement and the couple waves before Caesar bids everyone goodnight. The interviews would be the next day and then they would finally be able to go home…

* * *

**I really hope you liked it! I also hope Cato and Clove weren't too out of character, I sort of just wrote how I would have expected them to feel after all they went through. **

**Annnnnd if you haven't already, please go and vote on the poll for this story on my profile! Please review, it's really what keeps me writing :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while I've been really busy… Anyway, this chapters a little short but I just wanted to give you guys something to read, so I hope you like it!**

**Thank you to; **soccergal21**, **'Abbi'**, **Hunger-Games-Lover555**, **TwilightCharmedFaie **and **InSaNeAnNiE **for your awesome reviews! I really appreciate it :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- all credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

"Perfect!" Revan sighed as Clove twirled in front of him, her dress flowing with her. Clove gave him a half smile and fiddled with the ring on her fourth finger, the diamond pointing to the palm of her hand. "What'd you think?" he went on.

"It's beautiful, as usual," she replied, her hands running over the material. "But white...?" she questioned. The dress was a pure, innocent white with silver mirror embellishments across her bodice and waist. The full, white, skirt stopped just above her knee and two silver heels on her feet. Her hair was pulled up into a high bun with white flowered intertwined, while her make up was simple and natural.

"You don't like white?" Revan jokes, raising an eyebrow.

"No I do... But I can't help but think this has something to do with Cato and I?" she asked. She didn't mind everyone knowing but when their relationship was purposefully being used to impress the audience, it kind of got to her.

Revan sighed and looked to the ground briefly, "You're too smart for you're own good Clove," he laughed, avoiding her question all together.

"Revan..." she said plainly.

"Come on," he cut her off. "Let's go," Revan said and grabbed her hand, leading her to the room the interview would take place. Thankfully without a live audience for once.

"Congratulations Clove!" Caesar said as she entered the interview room. "How're you feeling?" he asked her.

"I'm good…" she replied, still fiddling with the diamond facing the palm of her hand. "A little nervous but good."

"Ahh don't be," Caesar said, waving his hands. "You'll be fine. And hey, why don't you let the cameras so that huh?" he added, picking up her hand and turning the ring around until the diamond faced the front. "Beautiful!" he said and Clove smiled and looked down at her hand as Caesar walked away.

* * *

"So, any last advice?" Cato asked Enobaria before walking into the interview room. "Any final do's or don'ts?" He was wearing a black suit with a white vest and silver tie. His hair was gelled, unlike anyway he'd worn it before.

"As a matter a fact, yes," Enobaria replied and Cato rolled his eyes, expecting it. "Be careful. Don't say anything that the Capitol might be able to use against you, or Clove."

"So what should I say then?" He asked.

"Be honest, try to keep the interview focused on your relationship. Admit that everything you did in the arena was for Clove."

"But it was," Cato replied, thinking it was obvious.

"Then just tell the truth and you'll be fine," is all she said before they entered the interview room.

"Cato!" he heard as soon as he stepped in. Clove approached him looking absolutely stunning. He opened his arms and allowed her to fall into them, hugging her tightly. Both couldn't wait until they could go home and finally have some alone time again.

"You okay?" he whispered into her ear.

"I'm fine," she replied. "What about you?"

"I'm okay... Let's just get this over with huh?" he answered and she let out a small laugh as they walked over to join Caesar.

A man behind the camera counts down and before they know it, the three of them are broadcasted live to all of Panem. Caesar makes his usual

introduction by welcoming everyone and congratulating the two on the victory. They both try to answer the questions as best and as honestly as they can, Cato's arm not leaving Clove's side as the interview progresses.

"So, I believe we all found out about this relationship about half way through the games," Cesar asked and they knew where it was headed. "Was that intended?"

Cato smiled and laughed, as did Clove. "It wasn't intended, no," he began. "I think that after the feast... I was so close to loosing her I didn't care who was watching... I needed to tell we how much I loved her."

Clove smiled and looked down. The audience would love this, finally seeing the softer side of the tributes from district two. "To be honest I don't really think either of us cared who was watching at that point," Clove added.

Caesar nodded in understanding, a smile spreading across his lips. "How was that for you Clove? What were you thinking during those last few moments of the feast?"

"I was terrified... I really thought I was going to die," Clove answered honestly. "I was constantly questioning how I could possibly still be alive but Cato was there and I knew... I'd be safe." The audience would drool over that and she knew it.

Caesar nodded and smiled sympathetically. "And after you lost your sight, what was that like?"

"Even more terrifying!" Clove allowed herself laugh. "It was unbearable having to stare into darkness for so long. I felt useless when it came to those last few moments of the games."

"And what about you Cato?" Caesar turned is attention to him.

"I think I was just happy she was alive... I kept telling her it wouldn't be permanent, and look who was right!" he laughed and nudged Clove who was putting her head down smiling.

"Were you surprised when you saw her yesterday?" Caesar asked.

"Course I was! I couldn't believe it," Cato replied, smiling into the camera. "I just wanted to see her happy again."

Caesar smiled and nodded appreciatively. They had done exactly what he'd hoped for. "And what about those final moments? Were you _really_ going to jump?"

The couple exchanged glances and Clove edged on for Cato to speak. He nodded, "we told each other before the games, that if it came down to just the two of us, neither would go home… we'd go together or not at all."

Clove nodded in agreement and Caesar sighed sympathetically. "Well then… before we go, how about this ring huh!" he managed to lighten the mood within seconds, picking up Cloves hand and directing it to the camera.

She smiled and looked towards Cato who was laughing. "You did well my friend!" Caesar said and Cato thanked him, still laughing.

"Well, thank you both and one last congratulations from me," Caesar said as the three stood. He shook Cato's hand and kissed Cloves before signing off.

"How was that?" The couple asked their mentor once the interview had finished.

"Perfect," Enobaria replied. "I don't think I've ever seen you two so normal… you must really be in love," she shook her head and Cato and Clove laughed as he placed a kiss to her cheek, holding her close and never wanting to let go…

* * *

**Sorry if they were a little out of character, I just love writing the romantic stuff, you know that. It probably wasn't as good as I'd planned but I hope you liked it anyway!**

**Please review, it really means a lot :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! I know it's been like… forever but I finally got this chapter done. Defiantly not my best work but it was still fun to write and I hope you enjoy it :)**

**As usual thank you to: **soccergal**, **InSaNeAnNiE**, **Hunger-Games-Lover555, JasperWhitlockHale1863 (for all of them) **and **TwilightCharmedFaie** for all your AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL reviews!**

**Disclaimer- all credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

Home... that's all they could think about from the moment that interview finished. Once they left the room, they made their way to the station where they would finally be able to return to district 2.

Their escort would be coming and of course Enobaria but both Cato and Clove bid their prep teams and stylists goodbye since it would be a while before the victory tour.

"Thank you, for everything," Clove told Revan, giving him one last hug.

He smiled and for the first time didn't know what to say. So instead, he placed a friendly kiss to her cheek, squeezed her hand and reminded her they'd see each other again soon. Clive nodded and smiled before taking Cato's hand and joining the others in the train.

"You excited?" Cato asked after the train had started moving, leaving the outrageous, colorful Capitol behind.

Clove sighed happily and nodded. It just seems so... I don't know... unreal. I mean, I really thought only one of us, or even neither of us would return."

Cato let out a half hearted laugh and placed his hand over Cloves as they stated out the window, watching blurred images pass. "I know... It's hard to believe really."

There was a pause before Clove spoke again, "We were lucky you know... that Katniss and Peeta escaped."

"Katniss and Peeta?" Cato laughed, "what happened to Twelve and Lover boy?"

"Cato I'm serious," Clove said, although she wanted to laugh. "if they hadn't escaped, we'd be the ones in trouble... we still defied the Capitol, who knows what they'll do..."

"Nothing..." Cato says and Clave looks up at him in confusion. "They're going to do absolutely nothing. As long as what the other two did stays more important, we'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Clove asked honestly.

"Because..." Cato replied. "Sometimes you just need to trust," and he said no more.

The train trip home seemed to take a lot longer then the one there. Night fell over the sky and after watching the replay of the interview, everyone retired to their rooms.

"Stay?" Clove said as she reached the door of her room.

Cato nodded and kissed her forehead. "Let me just go and get changed and I'll meet you back here."

She smiled and watched as his disappeared into his own room. As she entered her's, it almost felt like she was going back into the games, not returning home. She pulled off the white gown she had been wearing since the interview and stepped into the shower, letting the steaming water clean her of the Capitol. After getting out, she slipped on a simple blue singlet top and pants, pulled a comb through her hair and climbed under the warm blankets in bed.

When Cato returned to Clove's room, he walked in to find the lights still on but Clove sleeping peacefully, still exhausted from everything that has happened. Smiling, he tapped the light off and climbed in next to her, wrapping his arm around her small figure and drifting off to sleep himself.

* * *

The next morning, the couple make their way to the dinning room to have breakfast. As they finish off their bread, cakes and every other piece of delicious food they have been given, they savor it. Sure, now they'd be living in victor's village with more money than they could ever ask for but food like that in district two was not common.

They change into clothes their stylists had left them with for their arrival. Clove in a simple peach and blue coloured sundress and sandals and Cato in simple black jeans and a blue shirt.

"There it is!" Cato said, sighing as he stood up and looked out the window to the old station, an audience gathered to welcome their return.

"Home…" Clove says, joining him. 'Finally…" They scanned the audience, catching site of their families and when the train came to a stop, they stepped out onto the platform, waving and smiling as they took it all in.

Clove smiled when she saw her parent's faces, bright and proud like there wasn't even a competition for her to loose. Cato on the other hand, gave his parents a firm nod, which they returned, for the first time, looking almost… proud.

They stood, waving at the crowd of district two for what seemed like hours before everyone finally started to disperse and only the families remained. Cato jumped down from the train platform first, helping Clove afterwards making her roll her eyes at his gentlemanly actions.

"Mum… Dad," she sighed, running to them and allowing them to envelope her in a tight, missed hug.

"Clove… we are so, so proud of you!" Her mother said, almost in tears of joy.

"We knew you could do it sweetheart," her father added confidently.

"Dad…" Cato said forcing a smile. His father returned it and firmly shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder. "Mum…" he smiled a little more and hugged her lightly.

"You did so well son," she said to him. It was the first compliment he had ever received from her.

"So you're glad I won?" he asked, laughing flakey.

"Course we are," his father said but the tension that was always pushing him away from his parents was still there.

"Congratulations young man," another voice said and he turned around to see Clove's father standing next to him, offering his hand. He gripped it and thanked him before glancing back over to Clove and her mother who then joined them.

Her mother walked up to him and very unexpectedly, pulled him into a hug. "Thank you Cato… for saving my daughter," she whispered into his ear. Not knowing how to reply, he nodded and smiled happily, thanking her also.

It was almost like both couples had not even acknowledged the romantic relationship between their children. So when it was finally time to part, Cato presses a soft kiss to her lips, which she gladly returned.

When she turned around to leave with her parents, neither once again chose to acknowledge it but simply took her hands and walked in the opposite direction. Cato, however saw the serious look in his parents eyes and was once again reminded why he volunteered for the games in the first place…

* * *

**I really hope you liked it! It was a much harder chapter to write but I finally got it done! Please review, it really means a lot :) **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Finally, here's another chapter, I really hope you like it!**

**As always, a special thank you to; **JasperWhitlockHale1863**, **TwilightCharmedFaie**, **'CC4evea'** and **colstrent** for your amazing reviews, it really means a lot :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: all credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

"I can't believe you! I just can't believe it!" Cato shouted to his parents when they returned home, all three of them angrily packing their belongings away to get ready to move to victor's village.

"You do not talk to us like that young man!" his mother snapped back.

"I have the right to say whatever I want, thank you very much," he almost laughed in response.

"What did we do wrong?" she replied like she honestly didn't know.

"Mum! I just came home from the hunger games!" Cato shouts to both his parents. "I won the hunger games and it's like you don't even care! I guess nothing's changed huh?"

"Do not speak to your mother like that!" his father shot back.

"All I'm asking is for you to at least seem a little happy for me! Why can't you be like Clove's parents, they're proud of her, they're glad to have their daughter back.

"We never said we weren't proud of you Cato!" his mother said honestly. "And don't bring up that girl again..."

"That girl?" Cato asked, trying to stay calm but failing miserably. "That girl happens to be my fiancée!"

"Oh honestly Cato, do you really think we believed that?" his mother laughs. "You might be able to fool the Capitol but not us."

"Fool them? We weren't trying to fool anyone!" Cato retorts. "We've been a couple practically since we started senior level training together, years ago."

"And you didn't tell us?" his father questions.

"You think I would?" he replies, implying exactly what was going on. "The Capitol didn't make us do anything after the games. I asked Clove to marry me before we even left the district!" Cato finishes and at this, his parents seem shocked and don't reply. "I love her! Why can't you understand that?"

Still receiving no reply, Cato slams the door behind him, leaving the house for some time alone.

* * *

"So... are you surprised?" Clove asks her parents when they return to the house. Her mother went to the kitchen cupboard and returned with a bottle of liquor that looked like it had cost much more than they had, even though her parents did have a decent amount of money.

"That you won?" her father questioned. "Course not! We knew you could do It," she pops the bottle and her mother and father shout "to Clove!" making her laugh.

"How're your eyes sweetheart?" her mother asks suddenly, placing her hands to her daughters shoulders and looking directly at her.

"My eyes?" Clove replies. "Oh right, fine I guess. They don't feel any different I kind of forgot I even lost my sight at all." It wasn't the truth though; Clove knew she'd never forget anything that happened to her in the arena.

"I'm glad," her mother replied and neither said anything else until Clove spoke again.

"Mum, Dad... about Cato and I?" she takes a small sip of the pink coloured liquid in her glass and already feels her head spin.

"Cato? Yes he seems like a perfectly lovely man," her mother smiles and Clove is pretty sure she's never seen her mother like this.

"I agree," her father adds. "He did save your life."

"Yeah but... you know we're... engaged right?" Clove asks, putting her glass on the table.

"Engaged? That was all for the Capitol though wasn't it?" her mother questions but she doesn't reply.

"Wasn't it, Clove?" he father continues.

Shaking her head, she takes in a deep breath before responding. "Of course not... I love him."

"Love him?" her mother says, shocked but composes herself.

"Yes mum! I love him, I have for a long time and like it or not, we're getting married."

"Clove, you're sixteen-years-old!" her mother retorts.

"So? What difference does it make?" Clove questions.

"You can't possibly know how you feel at sixteen!" her father says, shaking his head.

"I know exactly how I feel! And if I remember correctly, weren't you two engaged at sixteen?"

At this they seem a little taken a back. "Yes Clove, engaged at sixteen. It was three years before we actually married," her father says but it doesn't change her mind what so ever.

"But you still married and you're still together! Who says that won't happen for Cato and I?" Clove asks, pained that her parents won't accept her decision.

"You're just a girl…" her mother says, on the verge of tears. Clove had never seen her parents like this in her life but not wanting to say anymore, she downs the last of her drink and walks to the door.

"Where are you going?" her father asks.

"Out… I'll be back in an hour," she says, sounding harsher than she intended.

Without another word, she shuts the door behind her and walks to the one place she had wanted to be since she left; the field she spent so much of her time at with Cato. It's late afternoon but there's still plenty of light. When she reaches the field, she takes in a deep breath reminding her she really was home. As she walks closer, a figure comes into view, sitting, peeling at the grass.

"Cato?" Clove asks and he turns his head to look at her.

"Hey…" he replies as she sits down next to him, placing her head on his shoulder.

"You okay?" she asks, knowing what his parents were like.

"Yeah, I guess," he replies simply.

"You know you don't have to act all strong in front of me… what happened?" Clove asks and Cato almost laughs at her ability to guess when something's up.

"My parents…" he sighs and Clove nods in understanding. "It's like they don't even care that I've come home… I bet they wouldn't have even cared if we did let those mutts have us."

"Don't be like that…" Clove says, even though she can see where he's coming from.

"You know they thought our engagement was a joke?" he asks.

"So did mine, that's why I came here," she replies.

"It's weird you know… what the games so to you," Cato says after a pause.

"What'd you mean?" Clove questions.

"You see the truth in people, notice it more anyway. Before the games, I sort of just gave into my parents, did whatever they said," Cato sighs and pauses. "Not anymore… I love you Clove and I'm marring you no matter what they say."

Clove smiles and lets out a light laugh. "I love you too."

They stay like that for a while, just taking in being home, the feeling of actually being safe. Eventually evening falls and the couple stand to leave and return home. "The sky, it reminds me of your dress," Cato says before they leave, looking up at the sunset orange sky.

Clove laughs and smiles happily, "look at you, you big softy," she says, hitting him playfully on the arm.

Cato laughs and grips her wrists in his hands, "I'm not a softy," he says but she just laughs. "I mean it though, you looked beautiful that night. You always do."

Smiling, she says nothing but places a kiss to his lips in thanks, which he returns gladly, knowing he's made the right decision…

* * *

**I hope you liked it, hopefully that weren't too out of character. Please, please review, even it it's just a smiley :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took so long I had a bit of writer's block so I just started typing. It may be a little different to the other chapters cause it covers more time but I hope it still makes sense. It's also written a few weeks after the last one :)**

**As always, thank you so much; **Toadetterocks15**, **soccergal21**, **koyamon-lover**, **clato4ever7**, **girlonfire5360**, **'Guest'**, **JasperWhitlockHale1863 **and **TwilightCharmedFaie** for your awesome reviews, they really mean a lot, its what keeps me writing **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

"Clove," she was awoken by a voice at her bedroom door. Opening her eyes, light flooded in before she saw her mother standing there with two mugs in her hands. They hadn't talked in over a week.

"Mhmm..." she mumbles in response, still upset about what had happened and starting to worry about other things too.

"Can we talk?" she asks and Clove shrugs which she takes as a yes. She closes the door behind her and sits on the bed next to Clove, handing her one of the mugs, which she takes small sips of the cold milk inside. "I'm sorry about what happened sweetheart, I should have told you sooner," her mother says, never having heard her being so kind before. "It's just, we almost lost you the moment you were reaped... We don't want to loose you again."

Clove sighs and shakes her head. "What makes you think you're going to loose me? Married or not, you're still my parents..."

Her mother smiles and squeezes Clove's hand. "I know. It just seems strange, my little girls engaged."

"Mum, I just won the hunger games," she laughs as does her mother. "But does that mean you and Dad are okay with it?"

"We've been talking..."

"And?" Clove drags out in anticipation.

"If this is what you want, then go right ahead. Cato seems like a lovely young man, he'll make a good husband."

Clove smiled at the thought. "Thank you Mum... It means a lot."

Her mother smiles and kisses the top of her head. Still holding her hand, she turns the ring around to face her and admires the diamond. "He did well!" she exclaimed making Clove laugh.

"I know," Clove replies, looking down at we hand. "I was just as surprised as you."

Her mother laughs as she gets up and walks to the door. "Oh and Clove, one more thing," she says before leaving.

"Yeah?" she replies.

"Congratulations..."

* * *

"How're things going with your parents?" Cato asks that afternoon, sitting in the field again.

"Good..." Clove sighs. "I think they're okay with it now."

"Really?" he asks in disbelief, wondering how they could have changed their minds do fast.

"What about yours?" she asks, nodding to the previous question.

"We haven't been talking... They just keep glaring at me and shaking their heads," Cato replies and Clove can tell he's trying not to sound hurt. "It's not fair. I love you Clove."

"And I love you okay," he interrupts him. If you think there opinion is going to change the way I feel about you than you don't know me at all."

He smiles and plays with her hair when she lies across his lap. "I know... It's just, I want to marry you, I want to live together and start a family. What's happened to us shouldn't change anything."

Clove smiles and for a while they just lay there thinking, before she speaks up again, "you really want to start a family with me?"

"Course I do!" he replies. "I want a daughter, she'd have your hair and my eyes. And then a son, he'd have my hair and your eyes."

Clove smiles and lets out a small laugh. "You've thought about this before, haven't you?"

"I think about it all the time... You're going to make an amazing wife and sooner or later a wonderful mother too."

She pauses again smiling wider than ever. "I want to get married..."

"Really?" Cato replies sarcastically making her laugh.

"No," she adds. "I want to get married on Sunday."

Cato's eyes widen in shock but he doesn't retaliate. "That's three days away!"

"I know," she replies. "I don't want to wait, why should we?"

He thinks for a moment before shaking his head. "I guess we shouldn't..."

"So we're getting married?" she asks excitedly.

"We're getting married!"

* * *

"Where do you think you're going?" his mothers voice comes from his bedroom door where she and his father are both standing.

"I'm going to live with Clove's family. Until after the wedding anyway," he replies simply, throwing everything he owned into bags.

"The wedding?" his mother asks, completely shocked. "What wedding?"

"Mine and Clove's. We're getting married on Sunday," he replies, ignoring the shocked look on both his parents' faces.

"You will do no such thing!" she shouts back, his father agreeing.

"It's not up to you anymore. This is my life, not yours," Cato replies simply.

"Cato, we will not let you throw your life away by marring that girl!" his father says sternly.

"Throw my life away?" Cato questions. "Is that what you think I'm doing? I'd be throwing my life away by staying here." His parents don't reply so he simply closes his untidily packed back and pushes past them, walking to the door.

"Cato!" his parents say in unison, both an angry as each other.

"Sunday, one-o'clock," he turns around to face them before opening the door. "If you really cared about me you'd come…" and with that he shuts the door behind him.

* * *

"Cato should be here soon," Clove says, walking into the lounge room of their home in victor's village.

"Lovely," her mother replies honestly. "I'll make sure the rooms set up for him," she adds and Clove joins her on the lounge.

"Mum can I ask you something?" Cloves says after a pause.

"Of course, what is it sweetheart?" her mother replies and she smiles at her new, caring personality. She's gained trust in her parents that de never even knew existed.

"It's kind of personal..." she adds, a little shy.

"You can tell me. I am your mother remember," she laughs a little.

Clove bits her lip before sitting down next to her mother and taking a deep breath. "Cato and I... we had a moment, after the games ended." She looks anywhere but in her mother's direction, to scared of her opinion.

"Clove..." she sighs, placing her hand on top of her daughters.

"Mum, I think I might be..." she doesn't finish the sentence but edges her mother to figure it out.

When she does, her eyes widen in shock, before composing herself. "Oh honey, it's only been a few weeks, you can't possibly be sure."

"I guess not..." she replies. But she can't help but think she may be right.

* * *

**So I know it's going kinda fast but I wanted to get the story moving so it wasn't just a bunch of boring filler chapters... Anyway, I hope you liked it! Please review :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Finally another chapter, I hope you like it :)**

**As always, a special thank you to; **soccergal21**, **InSaNeAnNiE**, **TwilightCharmedFaie**, **'Claire'**, **Clato-Crazies**, **LilyEvans98**, **FizzyCash mas**, **'Sky High'** and **everonica** for all your wonderful reviews. They are really what keeps me writing!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

She rinsed her mouth out for the fifth time that day after throwing up. "Clove, are you okay?" Cato's voice came from the door of the bathroom. She loved having him around but when it came to her personal suspicions, she wished he'd leave her be.

Opening the door, se smiled up at him, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You've been sick a lot lately..." Cato replies worriedly. "You're not having second thoughts are you?"

"Of course not!" Clove exclaims. "I'm fine, honest." Cato nods before returning to his room.

Making her way down the hallway, she enters her mothers room where she finds her, lying on the bed reading. "Mum..." she whispers, not wanting to cry. "Mum, I'm right! I know I am!"

Her mother opens her arms and Clove hugs her tight in a kind of comfort she can't get from Cato. "Are you sure sweetheart?" her mother asks, hoping the answer will be no.

"I'm positive..." Clove responds. Her mother closes her eyes briefly, regaining composure before speaking again.

"Everything's going to be okay," she whispers into Clove's ear comfortingly.

"How do you know? I'm not ready to be a mother... I can't," Clove says, for the first time in a long time, completely loosing herself.

"You're ready to get married aren't you?" her mother questions and Clove nods. "Then what are you worried about? You're going to be a wonderful mother!"

"You think?" she asked and her mother replies with a comforting nod.

"Are you going to tell him?" she says after a short while.

"No!" Clove replies a little to quickly. "I mean... Not now. I will, just not now."

Her mother smiled understandingly and they stayed quiet for a while, neither getting up to leave. "You're father and I were talking..." she eventually says. "We've decided to move back to the old house so you two can have this one."

"What? No, thats not fair..." she replies, sitting up.

"It's perfectly fair!" her mother replies. "You and Cato won these games not us, and besides, the old house is still good, I kind of miss it."

"Are you sure?" Clove asks.

"Positively sure! When this baby comes you're going to need the space anyway," she laughs and Clove just smiles, still scared about whats to come.

* * *

After a trip to district two's small available hospital, Clove stood, staring at herself in the mirror. At first she saw a girl se didn't recognize. One who had lost her strength and determination, her will to never give up, a girl broken by the Capitol and left with scars that we're not visible from the outside. When she looked closer however, she saw another girl. A girl who was now a woman, a soon to be wife and future mother. She had changed a lot since the games. The good things in life became more meaningful since almost having lost them. Her hand makes its way across her flat stomach but quickly pulls away when she hears a knock on the door.

"Come in," she calls, walking to take a seat in her bed.

"Hey," Cato says as he walks in, carrying a large, thin box.

"What've you got there?" she laughs and he places the box on te bed and sits down next to her.

"I'm not sure actually," he replies. "Your mum asked me to give it to you."

She looks at him in confusion but he only shrugs back. In curiosity, she lifts the lid to reveal a nearly folded white gown. She gasps and lifts it out of the box. The dress is floor length and the silk falls elegantly in layers of the skirt. The bust is covered with cream coloured lace and the sleeves fall of the shoulder in the same material.

"Wow..." Cato says and Clove laughs at his attempted reaction. "No, I mean it!" he laughs.

"It's my mother's... beautiful isn't it?" she sighs an Cato agrees.

"You'll look amazing in it, I'm positive," he states.

Clove looks at him, confused before turing back to the dress and running her hands over the stunning fabric. "I was just going to wear one of my good dresses..."

Cato and smiles before saying, "I don't this your mother would let you do that," finishing with a laugh.

"I can't believe she gave it to me though..."

Smiling, he moves closer and kisses her gently on cheek. "I can't wait to see you in it and I can wait for you to become my wife," he moves his lips to hers before traveling down her neck, making her giggle, very un-Clove like. For a moment she lets his continue before placing her palm on his chest and pushing him away.

"Cato stop..." she says, barely audible. "I need to tell you something."

"Can it wait?" he sighs into her neck.

"Cato..." he sighs, wanting to tell him but wondering if it was the right time. "Yeah, it can wait."

* * *

Her mother fixed the last curled piece of hair into a low bun to the side of her head. It was Sunday, the day of her's and Cato's wedding and she couldn't be more nervous.

"I think I'm going to be sick..." she mumbled, placing her hand over her mouth forcefully.

"No your not," her mother tells her sharply making her laugh. "It's just the baby messing with you."

Shaking of her feelings of sickness, she allows her mother to intertwine a row of white flowers into her hair. "It's beautiful, thank you."

"You're more than welcome," she replies with a smile.

"Mum..." she starts. "About the dress. Are you sure,"

"Of course I'm sure!" her mother replies, cutting her off. "It's nice to know that dress will get another wear out of it. Your grandparents bought it for me before I married your father. They were the ones with all the money then," she laughs, as does Clove.

"It really is a beautiful dress..." Clove tells her.

"Then go put it on!" her mother insists and she does as she's told.

* * *

The couple had decided on a small ceremony not far from their special place in the field. Cato waited nervously with Clove's mother and a close family friend who was going to perform the ceremony. A couple of their close friends from training over the years had come supportively and even Enobaria was watching from afar.

Clove made her way through the grass, her arm intertwined with her fathers. As soon as Cato saw her there was no doubt in his mind that he'd made had made the right decision. Her mother's dress fit her perfectly and some loose pieces of her dark hair framed her face, just like it always did. When she reached him, he took her hands and resisted the urge to kiss her then and there.

Thankfully, the ceremony wasn't very long, mostly because it felt like it was just the two of them and nobody else. The official pronounced them, "bonded for life," before Cato leant down and kissed her more passionately than ever, for the first time as husband and wife…

"I love you," he whispers, kissing her again.

"I love you too," she replies, after, before looking to the grass. "Cato, I really need to tell you something." For a moment he feels a little nervous before a voice behind him cuts off what Clove was about to tell him.

"Congratulations son…"

* * *

**I feel mean cutting it off there but I really wanted to get this chapter up so I'm going to have the second, more dramatic part of the wedding as another chapter. It didn't really turn out as well as I'd hoped but I hope you liked it!**

**And also, please don't get your hopes up about the baby… she's pregnant, yes but just think about all the drama going on and that is about to happen! **

**Please review, it means a lot, I'd reallu love to reach 100 soon too :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**YAY! I reached over 100 reviews thank you, thank you, thank you! You're all amazing :)**

**I hope you like this chapter and it lives up to your expectations. Your opinions really do matter to me, so I hope you know that. Also, sorry for the shortness of the chapter, I just felt you guys deserved something to read.**

**And, as usual, thank you so much; **everonica**, **koyamon-lover**, **'Guest'**, **Clato-Crazies**, **soccergal21**, **t**, **Jane**, **Penny Lane**, **Giovanna**, **Frankie**, **Lily**, **TwilightCharmedFaie**, **InSaNeAnNiE**, **iloveclato345 **and **FizzyCash man** for all your super amazing reviews!**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer, all credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

It would have been impossible for him not to recognize the voice... "Dad," he turned around and just as he suspected, standing in front of him were both his parents. "Mum..." she gave him a light smile is response. "What are you doing here?" he asks and Clove makes her way, standing next to him and he wraps his arm around her waist protectively.

"We couldn't miss our own sons wedding..." his mother says, a hint of an apologetic tone.

"Well you seemed fine with doing just that yesterday," Cato replies straight.

"Cato..." his mother sighs. "We came to tell you how sorry we are."

"Mum I want to believe you but..."

"It's alright," Clove cuts it and he looks down at her, shocked. "Do you mind of I talk to them for a moment?" she asks and Cato nods, growing more confused. Leaving his new wife behind, Cato leaves to join Clove's parents who smile and congratulate him warmly.

"Thank you dear..." Cato's mother tells her.

"Listen," she says sharply back. "I don't like the way you've been treating Cato. He won The Hunger Games and when he gets back all you do is treat him like garbage! You have no right to tell him what to do, he's strong enough to make he's own decisions and if those games weren't proof enough than I don't know what else to tell you."

"Clove, please," Cato's father steps in.

"Wait," she interrupts him again. " I just want you to know that I love your son... and I need him now more than ever."

His parents exchange glances before sighing and turning back to her. "You're right..." his father sighs. "We almost lost him."

"That's why we came today..." his mother says. "I don't think we've ever seen him as happy as he is when he's with you."

Clove smiles and glances over to Cato and her parents. "So does that mean all this fighting is over?" she asks at last.

"I think so," his mother smiles. "You look beautiful by the way sweetheart."

She thanks them and gives her new parents-in-law a hug, looking back over to Cato who smiles and nods thankfully.

* * *

"What did you do?" Cato asks with a smile as they walk back to victors village.

"Oh I just shows them my 'Clove Charm,'" she says with a giggle. "And I might have told them the truth... And what I really thought."

"Oh I don't know, your charm is pretty had to resist," Cato laughs, making Clove do the same. "No really... thank you."

"You're more than welcome," Clove smiles, kissing him quickly. When they reach the door of their house, Clove reaches for the door handle before Cato pulls her back.

"No, no, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right!" He says, giving her a sly wink. She looks at him, confused, before being lifted into the air, lying I'm his arms.

"Cato!" he squeals, not able to control her laughter. "Cato, what are you doing!

Her dress flies over his arms and he kisses her full on the lips before opening the door and taking her inside.

"Okay, you can put me down now!" she laughs, pulling at his dress shirt.

"No not yet!" Cato teases, caring her up the stairs and into what would now be their shared bedroom. There, he lays her on the bed and climbs over next to her. "You are so beautiful..." he whispers into her hair, tickling her ear. "I love you."

"I love you..." she whispers back before his lips come crashing to hers in their most passionate kiss yet. This goes on for a while until he pulls the lace on her shoulder down, exposing her skin. She lets him kiss across her shoulders before finally placing her palm to his chest. "Cato no..."

He kisses we neck once more before looking up at her, confused. "What's wrong?" he asks.

"Nothing... I just," she stumbles to find the right words. "There's something I need to tell you."

Worried, he sits up and as follows. "Clove?" he edges her on as she continues to gaze anywhere but at him.

"You know how we always talked about getting married and starting a family?" she says eventually.

"Yeah and we're married aren't we?" Cato finishes.

"Well yes..." she lets out a light laugh. "It's just, the family part might come a little sooner than we expected."

For a moment he looks confused again before it finally hits him. His eyes widen and he gazes from her stomach to her nervous looking face. "You're..."

"Pregnant?" she finishes for him. "Mhmm..." she nods, biting her lip. His face scrunched up in thought like he can't decide how to feel. He crashes to the empty space on the bed next to him and states at the ceiling.

"Cato?" Clove says softly. "Cato, please say something...

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffhanger! How do you think Cato should react?**

**I really hope you enjoyed that chapter; thank you all do much for reading! Please review :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! Finally another update, I know it's short but I hope you still like it :)**

**I massive thank you to; **FizzyCash man**, **t**, **TwilightCharmedFaie**, **Guest**, **soccergal21**, **Claire**, **Clato-Crazies**, **Lily**, **InSaNeAnNiE**, **everonica** and **xXSexy DevilxX** for all your AMAZING reviews, it really means a lot to know you like my writing so much!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

It was probably only a few minutes of silence but it felt like hours. "Cato..." she sighed again, fear building up inside her.

"Why," he sighs, sitting up on the bed and staring ahead of him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I tried, honestly I did," Clove responds nervously. "I just never found the right moment..."

"So you chose our wedding night?" he ask, not expecting an answer.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she shoots back, tears welling up in her eyes. "Are you saying that if I'd told you sooner you would have called of the wedding?"

"I didn't say that," Cato replies.

"But you meant it!" Clove shouts. "I can't believe you! This is our child Cato..."

She sits on the bed, staring at him on the other side, longing for him to say something more, something better. But he doesn't, so she jumps of the bed and runs to the door of the room, slamming it behind her, the tears finally escaping her eyes.

Left behind, Cato hangs his head in his hands, trying to figure out what to do. This is in no way what he imagined their wedding day to be like. He throws himself back on the bed thinking. Wondering if he would have gone ahead with the wedding if she'd told him sooner and wondering if all of this was truly possible... He was going to be a father.

"Clove..." he calls softly, walking down the hall to the bedroom she roomed in when they first moved to victors village. When he figure he was in the room, he knocked gently on the door, "Clove," he repeated, receiving no reply. But not wanting to wait, he pushed the door open to see his wife lying on the single bed, wiping her face and pushing back pieces of hair that had fallen out throughout the day.

"Don't bother apologizing..." she says as he walks in. "You're right, I should have told you sooner."

"No..." he sighs, shaking his head. "You deserve an apology. A proper one from the man who is now your husband," he adds, sitting down next to her. "I'm never going to let you go Clove. I love you and this baby only makes me love you more.

"Really?" she asks, a smile forming as she moves into his arms.

"I should have just told you that in the first place," he says, begging her small frame close to his chest. "You mean everything to me."

"So you think we can do it? The parenting thing?" she asks.

"Yeah, I do."

* * *

"Okay you love birds, we get it," Enobaria rolled her eyes, watching the newly married couple kiss for the tenth time during breakfast. They had decided to have their family and friends together to celebrate considering their was no real reception.

Laughing, Clove pulls away and takes a sip of water from the glass in front of her. "You know, it only really occurred to me last night…" she says, placing the glass back on the table.

"What did?" her mother questions.

Sighing, she glances from her family to Cato. "My life will never be the same again."

"Of course it won't, you married me," Cato states before bursting into laughter with him wife.

"Okay, okay, I get it, but that's not the only thing, I always knew I'd marry you," Clove says winking. "It's like... well the games are over but to be honest, it fells like they've only just began. I mean, we still have to deal with the Capitol and the victory tour, the fact that there's two victors and another two tributes still out there on the run…" she stops suddenly, realizing that no one in the room knew that information but her, Cato and Enobaria.

"I'm sorry, what?" Cato's mother asks, just as confused as the others.

"On the run? Two other tributes?" Clove's father adds.

Biting her lip, Clove glances to Cato for an answer. "Ummm…" he swallows, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Well done," Enobaria says sarcastically. "Learned my lesson to trust you two with this sort of stuff."

"Wait, what sort of stuff? Cato, what is this all about?" his father asks quickly.

He glances to Enobaria who gives him a look of _go ahead_. "The two from district twelve… they weren't killed." He explains. "The escaped…"

The faces of the four parents in the room are an exact copy of shock. "How is that even possible?" Clove's mother asks.

"That's what we asked," Clove responds. "We don't know and nobody's heard anything about them since."

"All they know is that they're defiantly alive," Cato asks.

"And what does the Capitol think about all this?" Cato's mother asks.

"They don't know," Enobaria finally speaks up. "Well the gamemakers know and they're not happy."

"It's the only reason why we're getting out of trouble," Cato continues. "If they had be killed and we were the only two left, there's no way we would have escaped so easily."

"So these two are basically keeping you safe?" Clove's father asks.

Clove and Cato exchange glances before nodding. "Katniss and Peeta… yes."

It had only just occurred to the couple that the two from twelve had in fact saved their lives…

* * *

**I hope you liked it! So the next chapter is probably going to be set a few months later and I want you all to remember not to get to excited about the baby! All will be revealed… **

**Please review, it really means a lot :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! Here's another chapter, I'm not really sure what you're going to think but I hope you like it :) **

**As always thank you so much; **soccergal21**, **Clato 27**, **InSaNeAnNiE**, **ShyRonnieftClyde **and **XxSexy DevilxX** for all your wonderful reviews, you're all amazing!**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: All credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

With Cato spending the day at work with his father, Clove decided to take a day to relax. For her, it felt like everything had been going non stop for months since the games and it was nice to just be able to stop. Being pregnant was wearing we out more than she expected, even though she only had a small bump.

It was around midday when she had dozed of, reading a book on the lounge when she was awoken by a knock on the door. "Coming!" she called, picking her tired self up from the lounge and walking to the door to greet her husband.

However, when she swung the door open, the person standing there was not her husband, nor anything like him but a woman. She couldn't mistake the auburn hair and bright blue eyes, "Sami!" she almost screamed, throwing her arms around her friend.

"Clove!" she squeezed back, hugging her tightly. The girl was only a year older than herself and had been living with a cousin in district one for almost three years now.

"What are you doing here?" Clove asked, leading her inside.

"I came to see you of course," she laughed. "Clove, when you were reaped for the games I wanted to come back so bad, but the peacekeepers wouldn't let me get a train and told me I wouldn't make t in time to see anyone. I felt so bad!" Sami exclaimed all at once.

"Hey, calm down," Clove laughed at her friend.

"I knew you would win," Sami smiled.

"Well I couldn't have done it without Cato," Clove stated, subconsciously placing her hand to her stomach.

"Ahh yes! That husband of yours," Sami exclaimed. "I went to your old house first and your parents told me everything!"

"Everything? Wow, I really don't have much privacy so I?" she laughed, going her friend back on the lounge.

"Everything! I met up with Cato again and I even heard about this little baby you've been carrying," Sami smiled, laughing as Clove blushed.

"So you don't think it's to fast?" Clove asks.

"Of course not!" Sami replies honestly. "Anyone could see just how perfectly in love you are with him. You'll make amazing parents," she added, having known the two for a while since they started dating.

Clove smiled and stood up, offering to make her friend a drink, "Argh," she moaned, quickly shaking it off.

"You okay?" Sami asked worriedly.

"Yeah I'm fine," Clove replied, walking to the kitchen. "Just been feeling a little off today... tired I guess."

"Well okay, if you say so," Sami replied, not convinced. "Are you sure you don't need some help?"

"Positive," Clove responded. "Now tell me about you! It feels like forever, what's been happening?" she added, shaking off anther sharp pain.

"Well actually, I met someone," Sami blushed.

"Really," Clove dragged out sarcastically. "In district one? What's he like?" she asked, placing two glasses on a tray. Picking them up, she began walking back to the lounge room before another sharp pain hit her lower stomach. "Ouch!" she moaned, dropping the glasses to the ground.

"Clove!" Sami shouted, running over to her friend.

"Ouch... Ah!" Clove moaned again, sliding down the side f the kitchen counter in pain.

"Clove what's wrong?" Sami panicked.

"The baby," Clove replied, her eyes welling up with tears an every bit of her feeling weaker than ever. "Something's wrong..."

"Wait here, I'll call someone okay."

"No don't," Clove stopped her. "Help me up, I need to get to the hospital."

Sami looked reluctant but grabbed her friends hand to help pull her up. She gasped, seeing the kitchen floor stained with blood and the front of Clove's lemon coloured dress, drenched.

"Oh my..." she didn't finish her sentence. Before Sami got a chance to react any further, Clove had bunched the front of her dress, staining her hand red before collapsing to the ground.

* * *

"Sami!" came a voice from the entrance of the hospital. She stood passing and biting at her nails but stopped when she saw him.

"Cato!" she replied, her voice and hands shaking with worry. "Cato I'm so sorry... I should have known, I should have done something for her.

"Sami what happened? Please, you're scaring me even more," Cato said worriedly, placing his hands around her shoulders.

"I think she lost the baby..." Sami choked. "Cato?" she asked, looking at the man who stood frozen in front of her. "Cato please?"

"Mr. Hadley?" another voice said, walking down the hallway. "Mr. Hadley?" the middle aged nurse repeated.

"Um, yes..." he eventually said, walking towards her. "How is she?" he asked quickly hoping for some good news.

"Physically stable," the nurse replied and he knew exactly why se didn't add 'mentally'.

"I'm afraid she miscarried," she finally said and Cato squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"Can I see her?" was all he said before the nurse led him down the hallway of the small district two hospital and into Clove's room before leaving.

Seeing her lying on the bed, pale, weak and more vulnerable than ever. It was as though they were back at the Capitol right after the games ended and she had been taken away from him. He walked closer to her bed where she gave him a weak smile and squeezed his hand.

"It was a boy..." she whispered, before her checks became damp with tears as though she had only just realized.

* * *

"Clove, at lease get out of bed," Cato told his wife. It had been a week since she lost the baby and she hadn't gotten out of bed since returning from the hospital.

"I told you I don't want to," she mumbled in response, burring her head in her pillow when he switched on the light. "Just leave me alone."

"I have, for the past week! But not anymore, okay, you're going to get out of bed whether you like it or not."

'Just leave me alone!" she shouted again.

"No, I'm not going to leave you alone!" Cato responded. "What kind of husband would I be if I just kept on leaving my wife alone day after day after she lost out child?"

"Stop it! Don't talk about our son…" she replied, turning away from Cato.

"Clove, what happened to you?" he said after a while. "You used to be so strong. You could overcome anything."

"Just stop it," Clove told him, getting more upset by the minute.

"Look at me," he said, crouching beside their bed and looking at her red face. "You're so much more than this. If you can make it through the Hunger Games, though loosing your sight and even marring me, you can make it through this." He smiled when the last part made her giggle. "You made be who I am today. Somehow you turned me from some power-obsessed career into a man who actually cares. I care about _you _and that's why I'm not gonna leave."

She thought for a moment before sitting up and looking at him, a small smile on her face "You just made that all up."

Smiling, he shook his head, 'I'm not ashamed to say I didn't. I know how much it hurts but we'll get through this, just like everything else. I promise…"

Letting out a heavy sigh she looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Okay," she whispered before placing the simplest of kisses to his lips.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! Sorry for any mistakes I just wanted to get it uploaded :)**

**Also, what'd you think of Sami? Would you like to see more of her? **

**Thanks for reading, please review and tell me what you think :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for your patience and I really hope you're enjoying the story so far :)**

**As always thanks so much; **FizzyCash man**, **soccergal21**, **ClatoIsReal**, **Clato-Crazies**, **InSaNeAnNiE**, **girlonfire5360**, **Clato 27**, **Shae101**, **everonica** and **Izzy lauryn** for all your positive feedback, it really means a lot!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All credit for the amazing Hunger Games goes to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

"Hey, how're you feeling?" the familiar voice of her friend said, having come to visit her. It'd been almost a month since Clove's miscarriage and things were gradually getting better.

"Pretty good," Clove replied, inviting Sami to sit down next to her on the lounge.

"Good," Sami replied with a smile. "How about things with you and Cato?"

"We're okay," Clove answered. "Ever since it happened I can tell he was trying to be strong for my sake but honestly, I think it's really hurt him."

"Of course it has," Sami replied, thinking that Clove would have already realized this. "It was his child too..."

"I know..." Clove replied, staring down at her hands for a moment before speaking again. "Hey, you never did finish telling me about this guy of yours," she smiled, changing the subject.

"I was wondering how long it'd be before you brought that up," Sami blushed.

"So... are you going to tell me?" Clove edged her on.

"Okay, okay," her friend replied, putting her hands up in defense. "You might have heard of him actually," she added. "His name is Cavan Paige..."

"Paige?" Clove questioned, thinking back to the games. "As in Glimmer Paige?"

Sami nodded. Wow..." Clove sighed.

"I know," Sami replied. "I was with him... when she was killed."

"How'd he take it?" Clove asked. Until now she'd never really thought about the families of the tributes

that didn't make it through the games until now.

"They weren't close but he still took it pretty hard... I mean she was his sister," Sami replied. "He was mostly in shock... I think he was pretty sure she had a good chance of winning so when I told him you and Cato were two of my closest friends he was a little shocked."

"What happened?" Clove asked, wanting to hear more.

"Everything was fine for the most part," Sami said. "When the games ended I think it really hit him, that Glimmer wasn't coming home I mean." She paused but Clove edged for her to continue. "We haven't really talked much since..."

"But you're still together right?" Clove asked.

"Of course!" Sami exclaimed as if it was obvious. "He just needs some time. He'll come around."

"Is that why you came home?" Clove asked.

"Well yeah... That and to see you of course," see smiles, hugging her friend.

* * *

"I bet you wouldn't believe it if I told you Sami met Glimmers bother," Clove said suddenly when they were getting ready for bed that night.

"What?" Cato questioned, confused.

"Mhmm, actually they did a little more than meet," she laughed, throwing herself back onto the bed in exhaustion.

"Okay, what?" Cato asked again, pulling on his shirt before walking to his side of the bed.

"They're dating," Clove stated, laughing at Cato's expression. "Told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Wow..." he added.

"That's what I said," Clove continued, climbing under the covers.

Cato's shocked expression doesn't change but when he gets into bed he looks at Clove and smiled.

"What?" she laughed, staring back at him.

"Nothing," he replied. "its just nice o see you happy again."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "It feels good to be able to laugh again." She kissed him again, down his neck until he stoped her.

"Clove..." he said, tilting her head up to meet his eyes. "It's a bit soon for that don't you think?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I miss you and I love you... I feel so much better."

Smiling, Cato placed a kiss to her lips, "I love you too..."

* * *

"Enobaria?" Cato questioned, answering the door late the next day. "What are you doing here?"

"Thanks for the welcome Cato, appreciated," Enobaria smirked, walking inside.

"Right, hey…" Cato said, closing the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Clove questioned, sitting down with her past mentor. They hadn't seen much of her lately so it was quite unexpected.

"I came to talk to the two of you about the victory tour," she said, glancing from the two of them.

"Victory tour?" Clove questioned. "Oh right… I forgot about that."

"Alright, lets get this over with then, what do we have to do?" Cato asked.

"We start at district twelve and go down from there. You'll also have to do another interview at the Capitol," Enobaria told them.

"Great," Clove stated sarcastically.

"Just do what you did on your last interview and everything will be fine okay," Enobaria told the couple, standing and walking to the door.

"Alright," they said together. "Was that it?" Cato asked.

"Yeah… I'll see you guys in a while," she stated, closing the door behind her.

"Well that was… very out of the blue," Clove said confused.

"It's Enobaria," Cato laughed before returning to the lounge with Clove.

* * *

The next day Cato decided to go to work with his father again while Clove was going to spend the day with Sami. At midday there was a knock on the door and Clove opened it to see her friend standing there, her face red.

"Sami? What's wrong?" Clove asked, letting her friend walk inside.

"He broke up with me…" Sami said, handing Clove piece of paper with neat cursive writing.

Glancing down at the paper, Clove read the words, the last sentence aloud aloud, "I sorry I couldn't tell you this to your face but I really just need some time to figure everything out and being apart is only making things harder. I still love you but I hope you can try and understand how hard this is for me. Yours sincerely, Cavan."

Clove read the last sentence over again, she didn't know how truly serious their relationship was. "Sami…." She sighed.

"It's okay… I'm okay," she replied. "I was kind of expecting it, everything he said was true."

"Just give it some time, he'll come around," Clove told her.

"I hope you're right," Sami smiled.

"You were there for me so now I am for you," Clove said, hugging her friend.

"Thanks Clove," she said.

"You're mores than welcome…."

* * *

**I hope you liked it! To me it felt a little mashed together but hopefully that's okay. Thanks so much for reading! Please review, even if it's just a smiley :)**


	16. Update Coming!

Hey guys, yes it is me, I'm still here!

I'm super, super, super sorry for the authors note but I just wanted to let you all know how sorry I am that I haven't updated in so long!

Things have been pretty hectic lately and to be totally honest I just haven't been bothered to write.

BUT! I have not given up on this story. I started writing the beginning of the next chapter so it should be up sometime very soon :)

Hope you'll all forgive me and I'm looking forward to letting you read the next chapter.

Thanks a bunch,  
ImagineDreamForever


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! I know it's been forever but I hope you enjoy the beginning of the victory tour it's set a little after the last chapter :)**

**As usual, thank you all for your amazing review, it means a lot to know you've stuck with me :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I hate this so much," Clove stated, shaking her head.

"You and me both," Cato added, throwing himself backward on the bed. They were currently on the train, headed for district twelve to begin their victory tour and neither one wanted to be there.

"You know, after all these years watching the games, being a victor just looked like so much fun," Clove started. "But now that I'm actually here... I just wish neither of us were a part of it in the first place."

"I know, but calm down," Cato told his wife. "What's done is done and the quicker we get this stupid tour over with the better."

"Agreed," Clove sighed.

"Can we go to bed now?" Cato winked and Clove just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

* * *

"I bet you haven't missed these clothes," Revan laughed as he zipped up Clove's dress. She was wearing a floaty, silk black dress that stopped just above her knee and gold heels. Her hair was twisted back and her eyes were dusted with gold powder, taking away her usual natural self.

"I wish I could say different but I really haven't," Clove laughed in return, having missed her stylist after so long.

"Well you look beautiful as always, so off you go," he told her, smiling an leading her out of the room.

The pair met up with Cato, his stylist and Enobaria who were waiting to enter the first district. Cato was dressed in a fancy black suit with a gold tie and trim, while Enobaria looked extremely uncomfortable in a red dress of her own.

"Ready?" Cato asked her, after complimenting her as usual.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Clove replied. The train came to a stop in district twelve and the couple, along with the rest of their team stepped out to greet them. They knew this would be a hard district to make a speech for because as far as they knew, their tributes were dead. Cato and Clove would have to lie their way through it in order to convince the district that it was in fact true.

The introduction for them was short and unwelcoming. The entire district looked angry at the pair for their win seeing as their won tributes had come so close to winning themselves. Cato made up the speech as he went along, trying to live up to the usual District Two attitude. Clove added in a few words here and there but she couldn't take her eyes of the families of both Peeta and Katniss. They all looked wounded from their loss and she couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

As Cato closed the speech, she noticed a small girl, the one she recognized as Katniss' sister, the one she volunteered for. She was weeping into her mother's shoulder, who stood, holding her, her eyes glassy and stunned. At that point, Clove wanted, more than ever to just shout out the truth but she restrained herself.

The mayor of the town thanked them coldheartedly and they were ushered of the stage. The residents of District Twelve already started to move back home, however, the little girl remained behind. She watched the pair leave her district, her face red and stained with tears.

"I can't do this," Clove whispered to Cato and he looked at her, confused as she ran over to her.

As quickly as possible, without being spotted, she approached the girl and bent down to her level. "Your sister, she's still alive, so is her partner" Clove told her and the smaller girls eyes widened eyes widened in confusion. "That's all I can tell you, just trust me."

* * *

**I'm sorry it's so short! I feel so bad but I just want to give you guys something to read. If you have anything specific you want to see in the next few chapters, just let me know! **

**Again, sorry for the shortness and the slow update, thanks for reading, please review! **


	18. Hiatus (Sorry Guys)

**Hey guys! **

**I'm super sorry this isn't an update but as you've probably figured out from my lack of updates, this story is on hiatus at the moment. I'm super, super sorry cause you've all been such amazing readers but I really just haven't had the inspiration or motivation to continue this story right now. **

**I haven't been on fanfiction a lot lately cause I've been writing on Quotev but I wanted to let you know that I'm not giving up on this story. If I do come back an write more, it probably won't be until around the premiere of Catching Fire when I start to get excited and in my Hunger Games obsession again. **

**Until then, thank you all so much, you're all wonderful people the fact that you read this far means so much to me!**

**Till we meet again my loves  
~ImagineDreamForever**


End file.
